Archived press release

Date Published: 17/01/07

Aylesbury Vale District Council is advising local residents of new regulations to make postal and absent voting more secure at elections. A change in the law that came into force this month means that people wanting to vote by post must supply a ...

Aylesbury Vale District Council is advising local residents of new regulations to make postal and absent voting more secure at elections.

A change in the law that came into force this month means that people wanting to vote by post must supply a copy of their signature along with details of their date of birth.

This means that when a resident sends in a postal vote, this will be checked against the information and signature they are now being asked to provide. If there are discrepancies between the two signatures or the two dates of birth, the postal vote will be rejected.

The new system is being introduced by the government to minimise the potential for postal voting fraud, following some high profile cases in recent years.

Letters which include pre-paid envelopes and date of birth/specimen signature forms are being sent to some 14,000 district residents who currently receive postal votes at elections – asking for the required information. The deadline for returning the forms is 27 February.

When completed and returned to the district council, the forms will be scanned onto a computer system, where they will be stored securely. The date of birth and signature requirement, termed “Personal Identifiers”, will remain confidential to the elections service, and will only be used for elections purposes.

If the forms are not returned then a reminder will be sent. However, postal voters must realise that if they do not provide the information that is asked for then the new legislation means that their postal votes will be cancelled.

The new regulations will take effect for the district and parish council elections being held on 3 May this year.

Chris Sheard, Electoral Services Manager, said: “This change in law will improve the security around postal voting, and hopefully will encourage more people to vote by post at the next local elections. Residents who have requested to vote by post should look out for the letter dropping through their doors and send the forms back as quickly as possible. If they don’t respond they will lose their postal vote – and will have to apply again.”

For more information about the postal voting arrangements or registering for elections, please contact the council’s electoral services team on 01296 585051, email electoralregistration@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk or visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk